1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to accessories for gas barbecue grills. More specifically, this version of the invention is concerned with pans, vessels, containers, and various other collectors that are releasably attached to a rear side wall of a grill in order to receive accumulations of hot grease, fat, and barbecue sauce dripping from a grill cover or lid that would otherwise drip onto a deck, floor, or ground surface.
2. Description of the Related Art
The use of grills as a means to cook various food items has gained in popularity and use in recent years as more consumers are making use of their back yard or other outdoor areas as a secondary or ancillary cooking and eating venue, especially during those times and seasons of the year when the weather and climate is conducive to such activity. An integral part of this endeavor is the use of a barbecue grill.
While charcoal barbecue grills have been used for many years, the gas barbecue grill is increasingly becoming the favored choice of many outdoor cooks and chefs because of its of ease of use, i.e., trouble-free ignition and temperature control, minimal clean up requirements, and the like. Such grills are usually constructed with a rectangular support frame, cooking grid or surface, fuel tank, wheels, various utility boards attached to the sides of the cooking grid, and pivoting lid or cover.
During use, the pivoting cover is frequently raised to check the condition of the food stuffs being cooked on the cooking grid and to apply any necessary seasonings, bastings, and sauces, such as barbecue sauce. After the application of such bastings and sauces, the pivoting cover is closed upon the cooking grid, thereby concealing the food stuffs situated therein for continued grilling. Inevitably, the heat produced by such cooking in conjunction with the application of any bastings or sauces causes the internal juices, moisture, and fats of the foodstuffs and the applied bastings and sauces to splatter, spray, or otherwise be deposited upon the inner surfaces of the pivoting cover. The liquids deposited upon the front, top, and side walls will generally drip downward upon the cooking grid and food stuffs situated thereon.
However, the liquids deposited upon the inner surface of the rear wall of a pivoting cover will drip downward upon the inner surface thereof and drop onto a deck, floor, or ground surface, as the lower edge of the rear side wall generally extends for some distance away from the rear edge or surface of the cooking grid. Such droppings of fatty liquids will stain and soil such a supporting surface, contribute to a messy appearance, and hasten the need for extensive cleaning or resurfacing of the deck, floor, or support surface.
In addition, when the cover is pivoted to permit a user to view the foodstuffs, the liquids which have become deposited on the front, side walls and top of the grill cover will drip, by gravity, onto the rear wall of the cover. When this occurs, the material will then flow, also by gravity, down the rear wall of the cover and onto the ground or other surface on which the grill sits. This also contributes to the need for cleaning the supporting surface as mentioned above.
Various designs for barbecue grill accessories have been provided in the prior art. Even though these designs may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, they would not be suitable for the purposes of the present version of the invention. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,491, issued to Diller et al. on Dec. 24, 1996 discloses a disposable barbecue grill shield intended for releasable attachment onto a barbecue grill to improve the cooking performance of said grill by taking advantage of varied eat patterns and flows, preventing food from falling into the heat source, and the like.
Other types of drip pans are also shown in the patents to Clark, U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,798; Lin, U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,202; and Ceravolo, U.S. Pat. No. 5,456,163. However, each of these drip pans is located inside the grill. No suggestion is made in any of the references of placing a drip pan or collector on the exterior surface of the grill.
What is needed then to overcome the aforementioned disadvantage of conventional grills is the provision of a drip collector that can be releasably attached to a rear side wall of such a grill in order to receive any liquids, juices, bastings, and sauces that will drop or separate from the inner surface or lower edge of the rear side wall(s) of a pivoting grill cover in order to prevent a supporting or deck surface from becoming soiled or stained.